March

 

FOR COMPLETE V.P.I. TREE I.D. PROFILE CLICK HERE
Click here for link to National Public Radio feature on Pawpaw

 

Check out this unique small tree/shrub found in abundance throughout the natural area at the Arboretum.  A  “Pawpaw Patch” can be experienced at the 860 foot/262.1 meter mark on the Native Tree Trail.  Known by numerous other common names including Custard Apple, Dog Banana, Indiana Banana, Michigan Banana, and False Banana, Pawpaw is a deciduous tree or shrub growing up 20 feet tall (but can reach 40 feet) and often spreading by sending up shoots from its roots to cover a large area.  With large simple, alternate, entire leaves up to 12 inches long and an obovate blade (wider above the middle), Pawpaw is a noteworthy understory forest plant.  It is interesting to observe the dramatic difference in the “Pawpaw Patch” between winter, when the leafless Pawpaw stems stand without distinction, and the growing season, when the large leaves emerge and give a tropical flavor to the forest.   Look for the unusual purplish-brown flowers blooming in the coming weeks before the leaves emerge.  By late summer, the edible 3 to 5 inch long banana-like green/yellow/brown fruit, a favorite of birds and mammals and the largest edible fruit native to America, will ripen.  Pawpaw is the host plant of the Zebra Swallowtail butterfly, a beautiful addition to the forest in the coming months.

 

For more information on Zebra Swallowtail butterflies:  www.butterflysocietyofva.org